Illegal back row attack

[Antonio.King]

Identifying and whistling illegal attacks and blocks falls under the responsibility of both the first referee and second referee.

If the first referee does not acknowledge your discreet help as the second referee, or does not recognize the fault has occurred, the second referee must whistle it.

The only exception is if the first referee clearly disagrees with your signal (says the player was behind the line, below the net, or the ball was partially below the plane) or the fault in question. If that's the case, prepare to defend, second referee.

The key is to discuss this in your pre-match. As second referee, I always ask my first referee "At what point do you want me to whistle illegal attacks, illegal blocks?" This tells them that I'm aware that it's a shared responsibility, and that I'm prepared to whistle it if I have to.